CC Minutes - 08/08/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Papé commended staff for commissioning the evaluation of the diversity program, and looked forward to a memorandum with the results of the evaluation and the next action steps. Mr. Papé expressed appreciation for the pledge and asked if the council needed to recommit to it or pass it back to the Human Rights Commission (HRC). He suggested the pledge be mounted on the McNutt Room wall to reinforce its message. Ms. Taylor recalled that the pledge had been on the McNutt Room wall at one time. Ms. Taylor referred to the proposed meetings between the council and communities of color mentioned on page 30 of the meeting packet, and asked how staff decided who represented the communities of color. Mr. Chouinard said staff generally left that issue up to the communities in question. A broad invitation was extended and the meetings had been quite large. Ms. Taylor suggested that people would not necessarily feel represented by another person simply because they were the same color or ethnicity. Mr. Chouinard said that was why the City’s invitations had been broad in nature. Ms. Taylor asked what the proposed facilitator would be used for. Mr. Chouinard indicated the facilitator would be used for the facilitated dialogue on race. Ms. Taylor noted her opposition to hiring facilitators and asked why one was needed. Mr. Chouinard said staff found it very beneficial in such discussions to have a skilled facilitator present. Mayor Piercy solicited a second round of questions and comments. Mr. Kelly encouraged all councilors to be present at the September diversity training, both for the substance and symbolic nature of all being present together to discuss the issue. Responding to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Chouinard said the City’s previous Diversity Coordinator position was more focused on community issues that, in many cases, were more the purview of Mr. Rikhoff as the director of the Human Rights Program. The City wanted to refocus the position to work on best practices in recruitment, selection, and retention. The position was an internally focused position. Mr. Kelly acknowledged the need to not overwhelm the HRC with additional work but suggested more resources could be directed to the commission to address issues of racism. City Manager Taylor said he spoke with Sara Rich, chair of the HRC, who believed the commission could be of great assistance to the council in this area. He looked forward to partnering with the commission in executing the plan if it was adopted by the council. Mayor Piercy expressed appreciation for the way in which the conversation had been conducted and the manner in which staff incorporated the council’s suggestions in the plan. She noted that she would be unable to be present for the entire diversity training scheduled for September due to a previous commitment. Mr. Papé said that the position name “Diversity Consultant” implied to him an outside consultant rather than an employee, and he was worried that the title might make the person feel he or she was not part of the organization. Mr. Chouinard said that worldwide, human resource departments were making a shift from being the regulator to being advisors and consultants, which was reflected in position titles. He acknowl- edged the concern expressed by Mr. Papé, but he believed the executive staff owned the diversity manage- ment role and needed an expert consultant rather than a diversity manager. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 9 Work Session